Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Interview with Skyconqueror

Germany's Skyconqueror made their debut here at Heavy Metal Time Machine on August 7th. Now I am pleased to present the interview that I conducted with this very cool, old-school/traditional heavy metal band. I want to thank them for checking in with us and if you have not had a chance to read my review of "Under The Pentagram" (the group's latest release) then you can read it at the link posted right below this interview! Enjoy!

Andy (A)-Let me start things off by stating the obvious. "Under The
Pentagram" was a labor of love from metalheads to metalheads right?

Skyconqueror (S)-Yes,
absolutely! When we started our work on the new album, we realized
fairly quickly that the material carries us much more back further into
the past than it was the case with the previous releases which had a
little more parts of power metal. The releases in the past we recorded
usually in one (STREAK OF LIGHTNING) or just in a few days (all the
other stuff). This time it took us much more time – especially for the
vocal recordings. I think with the new record UNDER THE PENTAGRAM
we initiated a kind of new chapter for the band. With HELLSTORY we
created a retrospect from 1997 to 2008 and maybe unconsciously we closed
a chapter of the band´s history with the record. The focus somehow went
much more to the influences, the roots and the essence of our music.
What we felt was that there was a new spirit and new energy when the
first new tracks were recorded.

A-From the looks and sounds of it Skyconqueror is a real D.I.Y. kind of band. Would that be a correct assessment?

S-You´re
right. We always created and played the music for ourselves and we
tried to play gigs wherever it was possible. We never tried to get a
record deal or something like that.

A-Name, rank and serial number time. Whose who in Skyconqueror and what's it all about?

S-It´s
Daniel Hiller on vocals, Jan Tappert on guitar, Mirko Jankord on
bass-guitar and Carsten Stiens on Drums. We all know each other from
school in Lüdinghausen – in the surroundings of Münster in
Northwest-Germany. Nowadays we live in different towns (Münster,
Dortmund and Essen) – that´s not too far away from each other, so we are
still able to meet during the week or at weekends for rehearsal or
hanging around together. A-If you had a mission statement what would it be?

S-I´m
not sure if we really have a mission statement. It´s a wide variety of
different styles we like – from Rush to Dissection, from Magnum to
Slayer and from ZZ TOP to Darkthrone. Along the years we got influences
from all those styles (in the music and in the lyrics – here especially
the occult stuff prevails). All these influences are a part of
SKYCONQUEROR. We do what we like! Perhaps the variety of different
styles could be the mission statement of our music. A-Old-school heavy metal. You've got to love it right? I know I sure as hell do!

S-Yes,
that´s right also. Among all different styles of metal – it´s the old
school of metal we all love. That´s the style of music connecting us. In
addition everyone has his own preferences, for example Daniel likes
progressive metal, Jan is a big supporter of old school Black Metal, Mirko loves old school british HM and L.A. hairmetal as well. A-Awesome! Now, back to the album at hand. I read somewhere that "Under
The Pentagram" took over a year to record. Was there any reason why? I
mean other then the D.I.Y. approach of your band?

S-Of course
it didn't take us more than one year to do the recordings. The drums –
for example – were recorded in just two days. But we all have our jobs
and our private obligations. This is why we were not able to work on the
album permanently. Sometimes we had to interrupt the recordings for a
couple of weeks. A-My bad then. Switching gears somewhat here, but I've got to say that I am surprised
that your band is still unsigned. Especially considering the renewed interest in straight-up heavy metal. Has there been any label interest at
all over the years?

S-No, up to now there hasn´t been any label
getting into contact to us, but on the other hand we have never sent any
copies of our CDs to any labels. We just sent some records to fanzines
and sold them on concerts, for example. We are completely satisfied with
our current situation. With oomoxx we have a good partner for
distribution and Metalmessage (Editor's note: Metalmessage does great work and comes highly recommended!) supports us with promotion. We are going
to follow what´s going on with Under The Pentagram, but right now we
don´t see any advantage of having a label. But if you know a freaking
generous label – let us know! Haha… A-I'll keep you guys in mind and if I can help in that regard I most certainly will!

A-The German metal
scene is well known for it's more extreme side. I think we can all agree upon that. For Skyconqueror
though it's all about staying true to the roots of traditional heavy metal and
the N.W.O.B.H.M. movement. Do you find yourself alone in that field or
has Germany shown a renewed interest in straight-ahead heavy metal like
the U.S., UK and Sweden (just to name a few countries going that route)?

S-Of course there are some very good traditional metal bands in
the German underground. But we also like playing with all kinds of
bands. We played on festivals as the only metal band among bands playing
very different styles of music. The feedback during and after the gigs
was always really positive – from metalheads and the other guys. A-Are there any other local bands that our readers should check out?

S-We
sometimes played with Terror Blade (thrash), Metalhead and Somewhere In
Nowhere (both power metal). These are really nice guys and we like
their kind of music. A-I'll have to look into those three bands then. But, if you are able then please by all means send them my way! My goal is to continue to support underground and independent acts no matter WHERE they happen to appear on the world stage! Now, "Under The Pentagram" (digitally
at least) can be found on the usual sites like Amazon, CD Baby and
iTunes (which is where I snagged my copy of your very excellent
sophomore release!). And while that is cool and all (and I should know
as my digital collection is out of control when it comes to all things
metal!) there is just something about being able to hold an album, look
at it's artwork and flips through it's pages. Where can fans find hard
copies of the album then if they want to add it to their collection?

S-If
you want to buy a hard copy you should check out for example Amazon,
and if you have the time and we are around you can just visit a gig and
buy it there. We always carry copies with us. Otherwise send us a
message. For digital releases you can check out "Under The Pentagram"
on every major channel, including iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and cdbaby.com. If you want to listen to it first then you should have a look
at our Facebook page under Facebook.com/skyconqueror and listen to some
tunes there. And if you don´t like Facebook just check out Youtube (but
be careful – obviously there is a computer game with the same name –
don´t look at that!). You can also find some links on www.skyconqueror.de. A-That brings up a similar question. Where can fans go to find out more about Skyconqueror?

S-The
easiest way is via our homepage and the Facebook link. Or you can find
us in beergardens and bars in and around the towns we live! A-What does the rest of 2014 have in store for the band?

S-We
would like to play some concerts in autumn and winter. We hope that
works. Perhaps we are going to start working on a new recording. We want
to get rid of all our CDs (YOU can help us with that!) and after summer
we plan to make a (very late) release party in the Whiskey Dungeon in
Münster, Germany. A-Hopefully this interview and my previous review WILL help you move some CDs as your album is a real banger!

A-What do you ultimately want Skyconqueror's legacy to be?

S-Wow,
that sounds as if we were suspended yet! It´s to early to talk about a
legacy. We are going to make more music, music that we like – that´s our
legacy. A-As a fan of solid heavy metal I hope you do continue to make music for a very LONG time!

A-Final thoughts? The mic is all yours and the audience is listening!

S-You
readers, if you like heavy metal of the old school then just have a
look at our homepage and listen to some of the new songs! Stay with us
for the new stuff and the coming gigs. Support the underground and take care!A-The same goes to you!

"So, in closing, fuck you METAL MARK. Fuck you, fuck Lynch Mob, and fuck your shitty website!”
“I don't know who this METAL MARK is, but I know better than to waste my time checking out anything else written by this asshole”
-Mike